ThePirateBay changes domains after .sx seizure

Regular Pirate Bay users were shocked to discover that the infamous website seemed to have vanished off the internet, without any explanation. It was only when torrent news-focused website TorrentFreak pressed for comment that the Pirate Bay team revealed that their .sx domain had been seized, and that they had had to relocate to thepiratebay.ac. This may be due to recent trouble with Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN, which sent a letter to the domain registry last month to try to force them to take it down.

“We expressly point out that by registering domain names and using these and/or allowing these to be used by The Pirate Bay, you infringe on the rights of Rights Owners,” said the letter. “Therefore, the Rights Owners hold you liable for the damages that they have suffered and will suffer from your actions.” Included in the letter was a deadline of 22 November, and a threat of a 25,000 euro per day fine should the .sxregistrynot comply. As the .sx domain is controlled by the Dutch part of Sint Maarten, BREIN might have some form of jurisdiction over it – hence why the website was taken down so speedily.

This is the fifth domain hop for the Pirate Bay, and is unlikely to be the last – .ac is connected to the UK, so it’s “just a quick stop there” according to a Pirate Bay insider. The Pirate Bay has switched from its original domain to a Greenland-based one, before moving to Iceland and eventually .sx; and it looks as though the Peruvian .pe will be next.